65 Rising Tension

As the 'weakest' region on the Fifth Floor, the Southern Forests were relatively safe, regardless of the nature of your Blessing.

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So long as you avoided venturing too far South, traveling for well over three days, there weren't any particularly dangerous enemies. Rather, there was an overabundance of Slime-Type monsters, to the point it was nearly impossible to find an area without at least one Slime present.

Other than the Blue, Green, Rock, and Metal Slimes he had previously encountered, Linnaeus quickly came to learn that there were a variety of Slimes outside his existing knowledge. This included types with light purple skin, capable of producing electrical impulses, a type with dark purple skin, capable of spitting corrosive venom, and various elemental Slimes capable of using very basic Magic spells.

Linnaeus was honestly a little surprised at the variety of the creatures and, if time allowed, he would have liked to better understand the nature of their existence. Instead, his main focus was harvesting the coveted Slime Gels, a stable source of income due to the constant demand. They were used in everything from Alchemy to Blacksmithing so there was never enough to flood the market.

The only gripe Linnaeus had about the current situation was the fact many of the elemental Slimes looked almost indiscernible from their much weaker counterparts. Water Slimes looked like Common Mountain Slimes while Windswept Slimes looked indistinguishable from Green Slimes. If you weren't on your toes at every moment, there was a non-negligible chance you would eat a Water Bullet or an Air Blade, each capable of causing extreme damage depending on the area hit.

Fortunately, after absorbing the properties of the metal in his gauntlets, Krone was largely immune to weaker Magic spells. He also had extreme resistance to physical attacks, albeit at the cost of more than half his total Agility.

With Krone acting as the Vanguard, the Party only needed to be cautious of the dark purple variety known as Toxic Slime. Its corrosive venom had the ability to melt minerals so, with his body being comprised mostly of refined steel, Krone was extremely susceptible to this particular variety. In fact, he had half his left arm melted after crushing a Toxic Slime with his bare fist, something he quickly learned was a bad idea.

If not for the inherent ability of everyone to heal from wounds, so long as they were not in a Critical Health state, Krone may have actually lost his arm to a Slime. This seemed to prick his pride a bit so, from that moment onward, he focused on being reactive and observing his opponents rather than charging them directly. Had he stayed within the effective range of Linnaeus' [Barrier Aura], the Toxic Slime's venom wouldn't have been able to affect him in the slightest...

In this manner, the Party continued to refine its cooperation while simultaneously building trust in each other. They spent much of the daylight hours gathering materials and exchanging them at the Hunting Guild while, in the evenings, Linnaeus would gather information.

Since the preliminary attack, three days had passed without incident but, from experience, Linnaeus knew this was likely the enemy's attempt to lull them into a false sense of security. There was a good chance they were still being 'tested', likely to determine how patient or paranoid they were, so there was no way Linnaeus would drop his guard. If they thought he would become a soft target due to complacency, they severely underestimated him, a person who had lived for years without dropping his guard for more than a few minutes at a time...

The downside to this kind of mentality, however, was that Linnaeus became increasingly silent and anti-social. He was always tensed so, when Eliza would try to get in his personal space, he wouldn't allow her to hold him for more than a few seconds.

As a result of Linnaeus' behavior, Eliza was already pushing to have the Party to leave the Southern Forests. She, like everyone else, was in a tensed state but, seeing how 'serious' Linnaeus was, it was beginning to stress her out.

Unlike Linnaeus, she had learned the importance of relaxing your mind and body when given the opportunity to do so. It was impossible to stay in a reactive and alert state forever and, the longer you tried, the more unhinged you would become. While this may not be a big issue when you were alone, or perhaps with one other person, it wasn't behavior suitable for a Party Leader.

Ultimately, Eliza pulled Linnaeus aside when they retired to their room, explaining in a stern yet guiding tone, "I'm not telling you to drop your guard but your tension is affecting everyone else in a negative way, Lin. A Party Leader needs to be calm and confident at all times in order to ensure that the Party's morale is in high form. Seeing you become this...machine-like creature...none of us are able to relax..."

Having seen the changes in his Party members, Linnaeus knew there was some truth behind Eliza's words. In fact, their change had been weighing heavily on his heart and mind but, with the enemy having someone that could literally move through shadows, he couldn't relax. He would even stab his own shadow periodically as, even with [Shadow Step], a person could be injured if you hit the shadow they currently inhabited.

Since he couldn't ignore her advice, Linnaeus answered Eliza's words with a curt nod before relaxing his shoulders a bit and saying, "It's just...I would never forgive myself if something happened due to my own complacency. I'm not trying to stress the three of you out...I just want to protect the things I want to protect..."

Hearing Linnaeus' words, Eliza turned her eyes up at him with a slight smile on her face. She reached her hand out to gently stroke his head, saying in a light murmur, "That is very good, Lin. Wanting to protect things is a commendable trait to possess. Just remind yourself that there is more to protect than just the physical body...if the mind breaks, it doesn't matter how a person appears to viewers. In many cases, the thing you should do your best to safeguard is the person's mentality...wounds heal and scars fade...remember that, okay...?"

Linnaeus blinked in surprise after hearing Eliza's words. He could understand the truth contained in them as, during his time as a Street Urchin, the thing he focused on preserving, more than anything else, was his sense of self and his desire to protect. This hadn't changed even after he obtained his Blessing, rather, even after being separated from his sister, the one thing that kept him from straying onto a much darker path was imagining how she would react upon their reunion...

No matter how much physical torture he experienced, regardless of how much mental anguish he had to go through, Linnaeus was determined to keep the seedling Rebecca had placed in him from being crushed by the immense darkness he was exposed to. He desperately wanted to be a good person, someone that broke free from the cycle that was endlessly perpetuated within the Slums...

Without realizing it, a gap had formed in Linnaeus thought processes but, rather than harm, he came back to his senses when Eliza hugged him tightly, his face smothered by her disproportionately large breasts. It was only then that he realized his vision had become a little blurry as, for a brief moment, Linnaeus felt as if he had failed to preserve himself. He had killed so many people and, even though he tried to help people when the occasion arose, he couldn't help feeling like a hypocrite that just took advantage of the situation.

Realizing Eliza was yet another person he was taking advantage of for his own ends, Linnaeus felt an extreme amount of guilt. Despite this, he didn't vocalize his thoughts and, though it made him feel even worse, he ultimately returned her hug in silence. He was too weak to stand on his own and, as she had put herself in a position to prop him up and support him, Linnaeus couldn't be completely honest with Eliza just yet...

What Linnaeus didn't realize was that Eliza was having similar thoughts as, from the moment they began to interact with each other, she decided to make herself into an irreplaceable existence to the young boy. She would do her best to be everything he needed, not because she outright wanted to manipulate him, but because she feared the loneliness that had eaten away at her mind during that month of solitude.

When she was at her darkest moments, Linnaeus had appeared like a gentle ray of moonlight. He didn't put on pretenses, acting like some 'holier than thou' person who was incapable of admitting wrongdoing. Instead, he simply existed as he was, a boy who experienced the darkness of the world at a very early age without being completely consumed by it...

While Linnaeus and Eliza were having their moment, Emilia was sitting cross-legged on the bed with a meat skewer in hand, her eyes curiously watching their interaction. With her enhanced hearing, she could easily hear everything they were saying but, as it didn't really matter all that much, Emilia only listened out of general curiosity.

As could be expected, Emilia had her own thoughts about the current situation and, though it was a little awkward, she was happy to see the bonds between everyone strengthening. In her mind, those who fought alongside each other were comrades while those unhesitantly risked their life for each other were family.

Linnaeus gave her the impression of someone who would go to any lengths to protect the things he had sworn to protect so, while she felt he had a long way to go as a Leader, she already considered him family. If she wasn't willing to protect the people that would risk life and limb to protect her, the spirits of her Ancestors would scorn and admonish her.

Prior to being thrown into the Crucible of Souls, Emilia believed she had failed her tribe and unborn descendants by losing her life in such an unceremonious manner. Now, however, she had a unique opportunity to prove herself, not once, but twice over. She would fight to regain her life and, with a few trustworthy allies at her side, fight to reclaim her honor and become a proper adult.

The Vanargandr were a tribe enamored with fate, family, and food so Emilia didn't believe it was a coincidence she had met Linnaeus, Eliza, and Krone. They all had their quirks but, deep down, she could tell they were the type that would fight for others. The past few weeks had been a testament to this as, despite ongoing tensions, they had quickly familiarized themselves with each other.

Emilia's only real complaint was that Linnaeus was still a little weak, despite having proven himself as a capable leader in his own way. She felt he was someone that needed to be protected, not a leader who could protect others and inspire confidence in his pack. He didn't give off the impression of an Alpha in the slightest, something that made Emilia feel uncomfortable at times.

Despite this, she had come to trust Linnaeus' judgment and potential as, while he seemed weak and frail at times, there were certain moments when his aura alone would trigger her instincts. When he wanted to protect something, he gave off an aura that could rival even the strongest warriors from her tribe. During those moments, Emilia would feel very excited and, if not for Eliza's presence, she would have tried to secure Linnaeus as her mate. Her people believed that the will of the parents was transferred to their children so, with his strong desire to protect others, Emilia believed Linnaeus was a suitable father for at least one batch of cubs...